Many blame the federal government and
its lumbering bureaucracies for moving too slowly on
just about everything—certainly I have made that charge.
Large institutions don’t change easily and don’t excel
at moving quickly. So why, in one of the few instances
when the government is moving quickly, are so many
voices speaking out in protest?
The voices of dissent for the
smallpox vaccination program are not chronic protesters
of all government activity. Rather, they are thoughtful
supporters of the government acting quickly in the face
of bio-terrorist attacks. But in this case, quick action
doesn’t add up to smart action.
Attempting to implement such a
far-reaching program without more public information and
education is a mistake. Why not take a short break in
our efforts to roll out a program to vaccinate
civilians—a break that will allow our leaders to answer
the many reasonable questions being raised by medical
experts, public health officials, and healthcare
workers—the very workers who are about to be at the
other end of the needle?
Our healthcare workforce has spoken
out recently in a letter to the President of the United
States, noting that "members of the largest healthcare
workers union in the United States—the nurses, the
doctors, the paramedics and other members of the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU) are very concerned
that you [President Bush] have not done enough to
protect caregivers, their families, or their patients
from the risks of the smallpox vaccine." These protests
come from dedicated healthcare workers who put
themselves in the line of danger and disease every day.
They do not reflexively speak out against vaccinations.
Experts say that one in three
recipients of the smallpox vaccination will feel too
sick to work and provide adequate patient care for at
least one day and possibly more. As many as 1,000 of
every million people vaccinated could become ill and a
few could die.
There are many things that this
Administration can do to help alleviate the concerns,
starting with distributing more information to the
general public. Another important step would be to plan
for the unintended consequences of this otherwise worthy
program. For those who suffer complications from the
well-known side effects of this vaccination, the
Administration should provide some protection, such as a
compensation fund or similar plan.
Additionally, why not give our
healthcare workers protections similar to those offered
to our military? Military personnel receive screening
for HIV and pregnancy before getting the
vaccine—screening that can help prevent adverse effects.
We need to pay attention to our healthcare workers who
are calling on the government for help. They have
families, they have patients, and they have fears.
Our government has the best of intentions, but good
intentions are not enough. More needs to be done to
assure this program is a success. Our healthcare workers
have chosen a career that puts them at risk every day.
We must make the plan as safe as possible with proper
screening, and assure that anyone injured by the vaccine
will be taken care of, physically and financially.
